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Death by air

According to an Associated Press (AP) report, Volkswagen’s pollution-control subterfuge is not merely a victimless crime. The incriminating software that VW admitted using to cheat government emission limits, has resulted in its vehicles spewing enough pollution to cause between 16 and 94 deaths over seven years, with the annual count increasing more recently. The total cost has been well over $100 million, estimated AP, and said that the results could be deadlier and costlier in Europe, where more VW’s diesel-fuelled vehicles were sold.

Added: May 31, 2016

“Electrosmog” to monitor air quality

Former British Science Minister Paul Drayson, a peer in the UK’s House of Lords, has developed a way of channelising “electrosmog” – the invisible clouds of electromagnetic radiation that enable mobile and Wi-Fi networks. Called Freevolt, the energy-harvesting system draws power from multiple wavebands of the electromagnetic spectrum with an antenna. The technology, which was recently launched, was placed inside a personal air pollution sensor called CleanSpace, to allow individuals to monitor the air quality around them. The sensor, called Tag, combined with a mobile app, keeps track of carbon monoxide levels and transport choices made by the user. This is reportedly the first commercial device to be powered solely from ambient radio frequency energy. Drayson plans to license the technology to other commercial partners to produce and market tools or wearables.

Added: May 31, 2016

Electrifying news!

According to the August issue of Nature Communications, research at Michigan State University (MSU) has revealed how Geobacter bacteria grow as films on electrodes and generate electricity that can be scaled to industrial levels. The biofilm is a combination of cells with cytochromes, metal-based proteins and pili protein filaments, discovered and patented by MSU’s Gemma Reguera, Associate Professor of Microbiology. The article elaborated that each cell is a power plant, generating electrical discharges that are delivered to the underlying electrode using a network of cytochromes and pili – a hair-like appendage found on the surface of many bacteria. The cytochromes reportedly act as transformers and towers supplying electricity to the city, and the pili are akin to powerlines that connect the towers to the grid.

Added: Sep 1, 2016

Reverse Star Wars engineering – lasers to cool liquids

University of Washington researchers have found a way to make a laser refrigerate water and other liquids under real-world conditions, the University journal UW Today has reported. The team, said the report, used an infrared laser to cool water by about 2.22 degrees C, considered a major breakthrough in the field of refrigeration. “Typically, when you go to the movies and see Star Wars laser blasters, they heat things up,” Peter Pauzauskie, senior author and UW Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, was cited as saying. “This is the first example of a laser beam that will refrigerate liquids like water under everyday conditions.” The discovery is believed to have significant implications, as it could help industrial users “point cool” tiny areas with a focused point of light, with, for example, microprocessors using a laser beam to cool specific components in computer chips to prevent overheating, and enable more efficient information processing.

Added: Sep 1, 2016

Smog-eating air purifier for Beijing

Daan Roosegaarde, who has a design firm, Studio Roosegaarde, in Rotterdam, along with his partners, has designed a 23-foot Smog Free Tower – the world’s first outdoor air cleaner, The New York Times has reported. A powerful vacuum inside uses ionisation technology to suck up smog, filter out dangerous particles and release purified air, the report elaborated. Roosegaarde claims that in 36 hours, it can eliminate 70 to 80% of the impurities in the air from an area the size of a football stadium. He said that he plans to install the tower at a public location in Beijing this month to test its performance in the smoggy city, and cover four other Chinese cities over the next year.

Added: Sep 1, 2016

China has money to burn!

According to a news report in Daily Mail, Yancheng City in China has found a novel way to generate electricity – by burning truckloads of damaged and out-of-circulation banknotes! This year alone, the report said, 1,800 tonnes of money with a value of almost GBP 18 billion has been incinerated to generate electricity. The money burnt is typically the old 100 Yuan banknotes that are now being replaced nationwide with a new design, the report revealed, and added that every month, the Biomass Power Company’s incinerator turns about 30 tonnes of money mixed with straw into power.

Added: Sep 14, 2016

New silver catalyst for air-cleaning devices

According to news in phys.org, sourced from Tomsk State University (TSU), Russia, chemists at the university are creating a new silver catalyst to purify the air, which is capable of decomposing toxic carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and other harmful volatile substances into harmless components. This nanostructure catalyst, the news story said, may be effective even at room temperature, and could be used as a filter for ventilation. Gregory Mamontov, senior researcher at the Laboratory of Catalytic Research, said: “It is assumed that the catalyst obtained in the form of powder or granules can be put into air-cleaning devices in homes, offices or production halls.”

Added: Apr 3, 2017

Recycling heat, Paris style

According to Reuters news, a Paris swimming pool recently inaugurated a new heating system using heat recovered from sewers, in a bid to cut costs and reduce carbon emissions. The Aspirant Dunand pool in the city, Reuters said, is the latest in a series of French public buildings to use heat pumps to recycle residual warmth from showers, dishwashers and washing machines in its sewage pipes. French waste and water group Suez, which has a 30-year contract to run the installation, reportedly already operates a dozen such heating systems around the country, in pools, schools, apartment blocks and administrative buildings.